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The Best Healthy Breakfast Drinks to Start Your Day Right

What Is a Healthy Breakfast Drink?

There are various opinions as to what constitutes. Are drinks better than food? Should drinks be added to food? Are smoothies good for you? What constitutes healthy smoothie ingredients?

healthy breakfast drink

We know there are healthy drinks other than water you can have at breakfast. Knowing what they are and how to make them healthy is the key. We’ll have lots of recipes here for you to try. Let us know which ones you enjoy!

Healthy Morning Drinks

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to add healthy breakfast drinks to your regular morning meal. These drinks are packed with vitamins and minerals and when added to good breakfast foods, they can give you energy, stamina, and clarity all day. And as we’ll discuss a bit later, they can also help you to lose weight and get control of health problems, too.




We believe you need food in the morning, as well as a good drink. You see, it is very difficult to get good amounts of protein into a healthy smoothie. The only way to do this is by adding a lot of processed powders. So, we recommend adding a breakfast drink to your regular morning meal and that morning meal should consist of good quality protein and vegetables.

You can get some really good quality protein without actually eating animal meat. One of the ways to do that is to make your breakfast with oatmeal and yogurt. You will find many of the breakfast will contain yogurt or other fermented products that will supply a good amount of protein. Avoid soy because it is linked to over 30 different cancers and 98% of it in the US is GMO, thus has lots of chemicals in it.

Of course, none of grains or foods are complete in protein as a good quality, locally raised, natural chicken egg. Meats have more protein, vegetables have more vitamins, but an egg has it all in a convenient package.

Some of the drinks were going to recommend you can put together and simply shake to combine. These kind of healthy breakfast drinks you don't need a blender for. Other drinks will require a blender or juicer.

All of the drinks we recommend are customizable. You will be able to switch out ingredients to match your flavor desires and lifestyle. Remember, just because we recommend a particular fruit or vegetable if it’s out of season, it’s not as healthy. Spinach is great in the fall and spring, but collards are more nutritious and fresh in the middle of summer.

Our Rule: Go local, go fresh, go in the season.

Healthy Drinks for Weight Loss

One of the reasons people choose these types of drinks is for weight loss. Adding breakfast drinks for weight loss is one of the easiest ways to adjust to your diet to incorporate more fruits and vegetables.

Of course, one of the best things to drink in the morning for weight loss is simply water. Adding 10 to 16 ounces of water with a dash of lemon juice will help stimulate your digestion, clear mucus, and wake you up. The next level to this is adding a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to your water. This helps increase a proper balance of acids in your stomach, stimulates the liver and gallbladder, clears the kidneys, and balances hormones.

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Added on top of the healthy water, the healthy breakfast smoothies for your weight loss will provide a tremendous amount of nutrition and vitamins and minerals to keep your body energetic during the morning. We have some fruit smoothie recipes for weight loss below.

We want to recommend you skip the premade breakfast shakes. While they are good for quick weight loss, they don't actually make your body healthy. As soon as you stop drinking the breakfast shakes, you will put the weight right back on. Plus they are loaded with sugars and chemicals. They leave you feeling hungry half-way through the morning.

The best way to make healthy drinks to lose weight is to focus on putting nutrients into your body and reducing bad food. Sometimes the best healthy drinks you make are fruit smoothies for your weight loss. They are simple, tasty, and easy to use. Much of what we focus on here will have fruits and vegetables in each drink.

Morning Energy Drink

Fortunately, all the healthy drinks we recommend here are going to give you energy. That is because they are packed in the nutrition and combined with healthy proteins from breakfast.

Thinking of just skipping the protein food and seeking out a replacement? You don't actually need any kind of breakfast drink with high protein. In fact, you need very little protein in your diet to sustain good health. The only people who actually need high protein in their diet are professional bodybuilders and the very sick. People who are losing weight do well on a slightly higher protein diet, but even this is quite low compared to what most people.

The amount of protein you need in your diet on a daily basis is approximately 150 to 200 grams. This is the equivalent of eating 2 servings of meat the size of your palm every day, plus the extra protein you get from eggs, vegetables and fruit. In the US, most people eat this much in one sitting rather than spread out all through the whole day. For most people, eating the right way will mean a reduction in protein and an increase in vegetables.

So how does that translate? To make healthy drinks for energy, you want to make sure you have a good amount of vegetables in your shake and foods with healthy proteins. Most of our drinks contain 20 grams of protein each if you combine that with a single egg. Adding the fruits and vegetables for breakfast, you will have 1/3 of your daily intake of protein. That ends up being a good thing because the body can't absorb any more protein than this in one sitting. If you add any more, it’s a waste of money.

So the verdict:

Breakfast protein shakes are not good for you.

Breakfast Replacement Drinks

We are not a believer in breakfast replacement drinks. Juicing and shakes should be a supplement to a healthy diet. It is virtually impossible to get all of your required amount of protein and fats into a juice or a shake. Like we said above, those powders are highly processed and unhealthy.

You can make healthy breakfast shakes to take with you on the go. In fact, making healthy smoothies is probably the best way to have a grab and go breakfast. We just don’t recommend doing that on a daily basis. There is no replacement for taking the time to eat a good healthy breakfast.

The simplest breakfast shake recipes are comprised of yogurt or kefir, fruits and vegetables. In order to make healthy fruit shakes you want to make sure you have enough nutrition without having an overwhelming amount of sugar.

Here is a great list of healthy shake ingredients that we favor:

Cucu​mber

Broccoli

Sweet Potato

Cabbage

celery juice benefits

Celery – we have a great article on why you should juice celery here

Kale

Swiss Chard

Any Herb

Try these recipes:


Healthy Breakfast Shakes to Lose Weight


  • 1 navel orange
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 cup tightly packed organic spinach
  • plus
    1 cup yogurt or kefir
  • plus
    Water to taste
weight loss shake recipe

Healthy Milkshake Recipe


  • 1/2 Banana
  • 1 cup Yogurt
  • 1 cup Milk
  • plus
    1 cup in season or frozen fruit
  • plus
    Honey (optional)
  • plus
    Dash Vanilla extract
healthy milkshake recipe

Special Diets

Some people are using juices and smoothies to help improve their health rather than to try to lose weight. We had some special recipes and information on drinks you may choose to make.

Heart Healthy Drinks

When we focus on heart health, we want to make sure we have a good amount of heart-healthy fats. This is combined with a lot of vitamins and minerals to keep our health at the highest level. These drinks are also low in unhealthy fats and carbohydrate.

  • 1 cup of whole, raw milk (with cream)
  • 1/2 cup whole, plain yogurt
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil - melted
  • plus
    1 cup of season mixed berries
  • plus
    1 tsp hawthorn berries, finely crushed
heart healthy breakfast milkshake recipe

Breakfast Drinks for Diabetics

Diabetics especially need to make sure the foods are low in sugars and high nutrition. The drinks were going to recommend or high in complex starches and nutrients. The recipe below has beets in it, which are especially good for kidney health and balancing blood sugar. The healthiest drinks for diabetics are ones that provide nutrition without sugar.

Smoothie Recipe with Yogurt

  • 1 medium beet
  • 1/2 cup whole fat yogurt
  • 1/2 cup leafy greens
  • plus
    1/2 cup cucumber
  • plus
    1 tablespoon lime juice
smoothie recipe for diabetics

Vegan Breakfast Drinks

While veganism is not the healthiest long-term diet, for a short time it can help reduce your cholesterol and blood sugar. When combined with a meal that is high in protein, a fruit and vegetable smoothie will provide a huge shot of nutrition. We recommend using greens as the basis of these drinks because it will provide the best balance of nutrients.

  • 2 cups leafy greens
  • 2 cups almond milk
  • 2 cups ripe, in season fruit
  • plus
    1 cup in season vegetable
vegan breakfast smoothie recipe

Breakfast Drinks for Pregnancy

During your pregnancy, you have to be very careful. Many of the breakfast shakes are not safe during pregnancy because they contain high amounts of soy, pesticide residue and chemicals. If you are going to do some healthy drinks during your pregnancy, you want to make sure that they focus on high nutrition with the best taste. Remember, everything you eat and drink during your pregnancy will encourage your baby to do same foods when they are born. If you want your baby and young child to eat healthy foods, you must start that during pregnancy.

Any recipe on this page is perfect for a pregnant mother. Just use due diligence when purchasing raw milk.

Breakfast Cereal Drinks

Eating grains for breakfast is a good way to get a lot of B vitamins and fiber into your diet. Unfortunately, the commercial cereal bars and drinks are not healthy. There are too many chemicals in processed foods. To make your own, it's actually quite easy. Follow this recipe and you'll be surprised at the results.

  • 2 cups cold almond milk or 1 cup yogurt & 1 cup water
  • 1 banana
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • plus
    1 heaping teaspoon honey
  • plus
    2 tsp old fashioned oats, ground fine

Place all ingredients into a pint jar and chill overnight.​

breakfast cereal drink recipe

Irish Breakfast Drinks

In many countries, there are different beverages that are consumed at different times. Traditionally in Ireland, the raw milk of sheep or goats is consumed with breakfast because of the climate fruit juices were not often consumed.

If you search for a recipe for some Irish breakfast drinks, what you're going to find is a shot of whiskey and cream. Typically, alcohol is not consumed at breakfast.

Mexican Breakfast Drinks

A traditional Mexican drink is a mixture of milk, corn flour, and cinnamon. This is mixed together and heated before being served with a hearty breakfast. This drink is quite healthy because the cinnamon stimulates digestion, the milk provides protein, and the cornflour provides a lot of B vitamins. If you are going to make one of these drinks at home, be sure you choose organic corn flour and whole organic milk.

breakfast drink recipe mexican atole with orange flavor

Unlike many of our articles, we really don't have any recommendations to purchase breakfast drinks or powders.

Are All Breakfast Drinks Healthy?

No, most parks lose drinks are not good for you, especially if they are purchased and this includes the popular Carnation breakfast drinks. The best breakfast drinks you can have are the ones you make yourself. Just don’t add sugars and you’ll do fine.

As we mentioned above, green drinks can be healthy for breakfast when you make them yourself. They provide a lot of nutrition, including magnesium and chlorophyll, and can be one of the best drinks to help wake you up.

A popular idea is to make your breakfast drink the night before and then store it in the refrigerator. If you are sure all of your equipment is clean and you have minimal contamination making the drink and storing it, this is an option. We do not recommend leaving your drink in the refrigerator more than a few hours. You are creating a highly nutritious fluid that is the perfect medium for growing bacteria. It is optimal to make your drink the morning you are going to drink it. But a short stay in the refrigerator is fine. Do be sure you are meticulous in your cleaning so you don't introduce for bacteria.

The same goes for storing your smoothie in any container, be sure the container is clean and will keep your smoothie cold if you are traveling. Choose a good travel mug *. Not only do warm smoothies taste bad, but they could cause serious sickness.

What to Eat for Breakfast Smoothie




We mentioned several times to eat your breakfast drink with breakfast, but what should you have a breakfast?

A large amount of protein can be obtained from a single egg. One egg contains all of the nutrients to grow a baby chick. By choosing locally raised, naturally grown animals you will get the highest nutrition possible. You can also avoid the arsenic contamination from factory farming and save some money.

Otherwise, we recommend filling in the rest of your breakfast with whatever you are not having in your breakfast smoothie. If you are having a hash of potatoes, peppers, and mushrooms, you should drink for breakfast some brightly colored fruits. If you're having a yogurt and oatmeal rich breakfast, we recommend focusing more on some healthy breakfast drinks that have a lot of greens and vegetables. Basically, you want to balance out your breakfast drinks. That way, it's healthy to have this smoothie for breakfast.

If you did notice, we did not mention commercial cereals. That's because most of them do not contain a significant quantity of vitamins, fiber or nutrients. Many of them are contaminated with pesticide residue. Even the high protein cereals still fall far short of having a significant amount of proteins. So you won't get energy or health out of a box.

Breakfast Smoothie Recipes

As with some of the recipes above, the recipes below focus on getting the maximum amount of nutrients into you. Some of the best smoothies focus on local and in season fruits and vegetables. If a recipe calls for raspberries and it’s early summer, you can easily substitute strawberries. That way your breakfast smoothies are healthy and changing with the time. You'll be able to get a ton of nutrients in the short amount of time.

If you have some breakfast smoothie ideas, leave some comments below.

One of the things we don't believe, many of the recipes are breakfast smoothies are easily digestible and will pass into your intestine quite quick. This might leave you hungry, it is why we recommend eating a good breakfast with your smoothie. More nutrients, more satisfaction.

Generally, all of the fruits smoothie recipes we have here are quick smoothie recipe. They don't take a lot of time to put together. Most of these are easy fruit smoothie recipes that contain healthy fruits and veggies.


Smoothie Recipe with Frozen Fruits - Strawberry Banana Smoothie


  • 1 frozen banana, sliced
  • 2 cups frozen strawberries, raspberries, and/or cherries
  • 1 cup yogurt
  • plus
    1/2 cup juice
  • plus
    1 tbsp honey (optional)
  • plus
    Water enough to blend properly
strawberry banana smoothie recipe

Protein Fruit Smoothie Recipe - Healthy Strawberry Smoothie Recipe


  • 1 cup strawberries
  • 1 cup whole fat Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup almond milk or whole, organic (raw) milk
  • plus
    2 tbsp lemon juice
  • plus
    Pinch of sugar or honey
healthy strawberry smoothie recipe

Vegetable Breakfast Smoothie


*Don’t skip the pineapple or go light – this recipe really needs it!​

  • 1 cup green tea, chilled
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or parsley
  • 1 cup leafy green
  • plus
    1 cup cucumber
  • plus
    1 cup pineapple
  • plus
    2 tbsp lemon juice
  • plus
    1 tbsp fresh ginger
  • plus
    1/2 avocado
vegetable breakfast smoothie recipe

If you liked our article, please share it and use the comment section below for any questions. Thank You!

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About the Author: Christina Major is a Holistic Nutritionist, Traditional Naturopath, and Herbalist. She has a Master’s degree in Holistic Nutrition and an advanced degree in Traditional Naturopathy. Further certifications in herbalism and metabolic typing. She owns and operates Crystal Holistic Health Consulting based in PA, the USA since 2010.


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Leave a Comment:

  • nancy says:

    thanks

  • Rachel says:

    I can’t wait to try this juice out because I love all the ingredients mentioned. Thanks for a great post!

    • Christina Major says:

      Hey Rachel!

      Thanks for the compliment! The juices here taste amazing. Do let us know what you think:).

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